Low price diesel heater

I've studied these a bit for a camper application. Complaints I've heard about these Russian & Chinese Espar knock offs are that they are quite noisy. Of course this is hearsay and not admissible in a court of law. :o
 
no i have a espar, which are falling in price, and a friend wants one. So I was looking for a web site to send to him to check out the espar and wallas and found this instead. You can get these on amazon so if its a pos you do have some protection. for the price I might have my friend get one to see if it works.
 
Tom there's all kinds of them up on Amazon just search diesel parking heaters. Thinking about carrying one as a spare to the Wallis for Alaska.

on edit Just saw you mentioned amazon
 
I'll be installing one of the Amazon Chinese diesel heaters in my 22 Cruiser next week. I'll let you know how it goes.
 
starcrafttom":ibz7btsb said:
lowcost kmart heater
Even if it only last 2 years its worth the price.
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I have installed 2 of these in friends boats. First one lasted 2 yrs & aprox 600 hrs. it was replaced last month, second one was installed 2 months ago they work as advertised are no more or less noisy than the Wabasto, Espar etc.. :thup
At the price they are a throw away if problems occur. :wink:
 
tsturm":16zx6ms7 said:
starcrafttom":16zx6ms7 said:
lowcost kmart heater
Even if it only last 2 years its worth the price.
Click to expand...

I have installed 2 of these in friends boats. First one lasted 2 yrs & aprox 600 hrs. it was replaced last month, second one was installed 2 months ago they work as advertised are no more or less noisy than the Wabasto, Espar etc.. :thup
At the price they are a throw away if problems occur. :wink:
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Just a reminder if you choose to use the "muffler" that may or may not come with the China heater WELD UP THE SEAM so NO EXHAUST LEAKS INTO CABIN!! :thup
 
I put one in my new boat (replacing a Webasto). The old Webasto was worth enough in parts ($75) to almost cover my new heater ($99 and exactly like the one in the first post). When shopping, look closely at what is included. The muffler is generally worthless as it isn't for enclosed spaces. The air ducts are generally too short. I bought an additional "kit" that had a Y connector instead of the T connector and more 75mm air ducting. These little heaters need every bit of help you can give them.

One of the extras that came with mine was a remote. Useful for me as I can turn on the heat from the V berth without getting out of bed. Decadent. Also check the thermostat provided. Some are quite simple. Others (once you figure them out) have as many settings as a fancy home thermostat. Go to YouTube to find out how to program them. Trying to decipher the instruction booklet is wasted time.

Some other accessories that may or may not come with the kit: You will need to buy an exhaust through-hull fitting and buy or make a muffler (if you want it to be silent). Webasto/Planar, etc. have these on their websites or you can get them unbranded and cheaper on Ebay. I haven't seen a cheap exhaust muffler, so I fabricated both of mine. Another item is a silencer for the combustion air intake. It is a surprisingly loud whine and, unlike the exhaust, is generally inboard. My Webasto was originally plumbed to take in both combustion air and circulation air from outside. I eliminated that with no bad effects. Shorter runs gives better performance. I went from an 11Kw Webasto to an 8Kw "Warmtoo" brand heater with no loss in performance. In fact, I added a register in the head for more even heating of the boat.

I just added a "smart" ammeter that shows constant charge and discharge of the batteries, including available Amp Hours left. The little heater uses a glow plug to ignite (@ 9 amps for 30 seconds). On high, the fan draws 3 amps, on low (most of the time) it draws 1. When shut off, it heats up the glow plug again, shuts off the fuel, and increases the burner fan speed. This is supposed to burn out any accumulated carbon from the heater running at low speeds for hours, which tends to be the biggest complaint on "old school" diesel heaters. So far, so good.
 
I'm curious how these heater compare with the Wallas 1300. I have been using my Wallas Cooktop for a heater mostly, since I have had the boat and am considering a Wallas 1300 for heat now.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Harvey, I believe that the Wallas cooktop is a max of 6600 BTU, The Wallas 1300 is about 4200 BTU The ones like the Wabasco or these Chinese knock offs, give 8,000 BTU. Any of the heaters with blowers and hot air circulation will heat the boat far better than the stove top, because of better distribution of heat.

The Wallas 1300 will be considerably quieter than the Chinese units.
 
Thank you Bob. I figured it would be a better heat source - one machine, one purpose -- but didn't think about it being quieter.

Would they both be able to run off of the same fuel tank, same fuel?

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Would they both be able to run off of the same fuel tank, same fuel?
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My experience is that the Espar type of heaters need a small fuel pump. They could burn kerosene, but generally are made for # 2 diesel. (#1 Diesel is basically kerosene) There are many instances of folks burning kerosene in the Espar and similar heaters, with no issues.

I would have separate fuel tanks. I would check the fuel levels independently, to be sure you don't run out at a critical time. It can be a bear in the middle of a cold night to re prime a Wallas stove... Having an external pump makes it much easier in an Espar or similar.
 
Just curious, why folks get all upset about Chinese tires, but recommend Chinese heaters? Personally, I'd stick with the Webasto over the Chinese knockoffs. I realize the Webasto (actually made in Germany) cost quite a bit more. But you are putting a little box with hot fire inside your boat. I'd much rather go with a trusted and proven unit. They have been very reliable for me in both Midnight Flyer, and my newest unit I installed in C-Traveler. Just my two cents. Colby
 
I bought a genuine Espar for a lot less than the cost of the heater we're talking about here. The cost was so good I even doubled it and called it a tip.

To quote the seller on the original price:

shit, I tell ya what, I can let that thing go for a box of Pacifico beer
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I had to buy a new pump and the ducting that brought the total cost up to a couple hundred bucks, but the heater and controller was about twenty bucks. You don't find deals like that too often.
 
Lots of people use them up here - a good friend has one in his boat and it really kicks out heat and it's quieter than the furnace in my RV. They are a bargain and I too am strongly thinking about installing one. Having some heat up in the "v" would be nice too.
 
Just curious, why folks get all upset about Chinese tires, but recommend Chinese heaters? Personally, I'd stick with the Webasto over the Chinese knockoffs. I realize the Webasto (actually made in Germany) cost quite a bit more. But you are putting a little box with hot fire inside your boat. I'd much rather go with a trusted and proven unit. They have been very reliable for me in both Midnight Flyer, and my newest unit I installed in C-Traveler. Just my two cents. Colby
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I'm with Colby. I'm just finishing the install on a Wabatso heater. We are planning to cruise in the wettest part of Canada (Prince Rupert & Kitimat) next year and a little more heat than my Wallace will help keep us more comfortable. I considered one of the Chinese heaters and I had a couple of reasons for not using one, even if it would save me a few hundred bucks. The first being that I have tens of thousands of dollars invested in my boat and why cheap out on some parts of it. Secondly and most importantly is personal safety. The German made units are very high quality, well tested and proven. They are less likely to cause a fire in my boat or leak CO poisoning me and my wife overnight. I would hate to be in a dangerous situation anchored in some remote bay of the Alaskan panhandle and have a boat fire or medical emergency. I am very safety conscious with most things I do and cutting corners often leads to dangerous situations. I have learned this working in the petroleum industry, on my bison ranch, mountain climbing or backcountry skiing in avalanche terrain. My and my wife's lives are worth more than a savings of a few hundred bucks.
 
We agree with Colby (he will not be used to this) and with you.

Buy Quality the first time.

I understand the 'throw away' theory, but I for one agree it is indeed a safety of life issue on a trailer boat.

Others may disagree, and that is like it should be.

We want a safe, warm, UL approved solution for a hoped for BC Inside Passage in Aug 2021.

What do you experts advise?

PM me if you don't want exporsure to partisans.

Stay safe and healthy out there!

John
 
Just to be Devils Advocate here, but a higher price does not automatically mean higher quality. There are lots of reasons that product A has a higher price than product B. One reason could be that product A is a higher quality product than product B and their manufacturing costs are higher.

Another reason could be that product A hired some well known personality to flog product A and they need to recover that cost. There are many examples of this.

Perhaps product A is produced in a country that has high overheads that must be accounted for that product B is not subject to but have no direct bearing on the quality of the end product (e.g. 52 weeks maternity leave).

To automatically say that a Chinese product that is lower price than a similar European product must be lower in quality without taking in the broader picture of the whole economy in each case is to take a rather narrow view IMO.
 
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